16 Facts About Khurshidbanu Natavan

Khurshidbanu Natavan was an Azerbaijani poet and philanthropist.

Khurshidbanu Natavan is considered one of the best lyrical poets of Azerbaijan.

Khurshidbanu Natavan's poems are in either Azerbaijani or Persian and she was most notable for her lyrical ghazals.

Khurshidbanu Natavan was born on 5 August 1832 in Shusha, a town in present-day Azerbaijan, in Karabakh region, to Mehdigulu Khan and Badir Jahan Begum.

Khurshidbanu Natavan was named after her grandmother - Khurshud Begum, daughter of Javad Khan.

Khurshidbanu Natavan was put in the care of her aunt Gawhar agha who taught her music, poetry and painting.

Khurshidbanu Natavan probably married Kumyk noble Khasay Utsmiev in 1847.

Khurshidbanu Natavan inherited an additional nine villages from her mother Badir Jahan Begum in 1861 after her death.

Khurshidbanu Natavan founded and sponsored the first literary societies in Shusha and in the whole of Azerbaijan.

Khurshidbanu Natavan was closely engaged in philanthropy, promoting the social and cultural development of Karabakh.

Khurshidbanu Natavan did a lot for the development and popularization of the famous breed of Karabakh horses.

Khurshidbanu Natavan was buried in Aghdam in the Imarat Cemetery.

In January 2021, after control of the district was returned to Azerbaijan following the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, French-Iranian Azerbaijani photojournalist Reza Deghati during his visit to Aghdam reported that the cemetery was destroyed and claimed that the tomb of Khurshidbanu Natavan was looted and her bones are missing.

The monuments were kept in the yard of the Azerbaijani Museum of Arts in Baku for many years, with Khurshidbanu Natavan's bust returning to Shusha on 16 January 2021 after the city's recapture by Azerbaijan.

Khurshidbanu Natavan probably married Kumyk nobleman, Khasay Utsmiev, in 1847 and had two children with him:.

Khurshidbanu Natavan later married a commoner named Seyyid Huseyn Agamirov in 1866 with whom she had five children:.